THE SH’MA PROJECT FOR HOLOCAUST AND HUMAN RIGHTS ART AND EDUCATION
Suki John is working to recreate her evening-length dance work, or choreodrama, Sh’ma. Through the language of emotion, Sh’ma tells the story of one family’s experience in the Holocaust. Based on her mother’s harrowing journey from yellow star to deportation, concentration camp to refugee camp, stateless teen to American citizen, Suki originally choreographed Sh’ma in the former Yugoslavia. Not long afterwards, the horrific tragedy of the Bosnian war impelled Suki to tell her mother’s story again in New York, as new “Never Agains” reverberated across the globe. The ballet is being reimagined for the present moment, with an emphasis on reaching out to young viewers.
The Sh’ma Project is being designed as an artistic educational event. Suki will bring students and educators from Texas Christian University, professional dancers, and designers together with audiences across Texas. Special in-performance projections will help the viewers understand personal stories, historic context, and the action onstage. Student audiences will participate in pre and post-performance workshops, building a cohort to creatively address issues of antisemitism, exclusion, and othering.
We need your help to make this happen with the best dancers, educators and designers we can find! Suki is trying to raise the funds to pay the dancers for their hard work. Please contact TJAA if you would like to support this effort.
The Sh’ma Project is more than an artistic educational project, it’s a movement against hate.
We need your help to make this happen with the best dancers, educators and designers we can find! Suki is trying to raise the funds to pay the dancers for their hard work. Please contact TJAA if you would like to support this effort.
The Sh’ma Project is more than an artistic educational project, it’s a movement against hate.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO HELP MAKE THE SH’MA PROJECT FOR HOLOCAUST AND HUMAN RIGHTS ART AND EDUCATION HAPPEN IN TEXAS, PLEASE CONTACT US HERE: INFO@TEXASJEWISHARTS.ORG |
|
Suki John, PhD
TJAA Director of Dance
|
Suki John, PhD, is the Texas Jewish Arts Association Director of Dance, and a Professor in the School for Classical & Contemporary Dance at Texas Christian University. Suki has worked internationally as a dance artist and scholar. Suki has choreographed for Ballet Nacional de Cuba, Danza Contemporánea de Cuba, Snug Harbor/Staten Island Center for the Arts, Narciso Medina, Danza Espiral, Ritmo Flamenco, Culture Project, Connecticut Repertory Theater, Adelphi University, Cuba’s Superior Institute of the Arts, NYU, TCU and the University of New Mexico. A widely published author, her book Contemporary Dance in Cuba: técnica cubana as Revolutionary Movement is a personal and scholarly account.
|
Suki originally choreographed Sh’ma in the former Yugoslavia. Not long afterwards, the horrific tragedy of the Bosnian war impelled Suki to tell her mother’s story again in New York, as new “Never Agains” reverberated across the globe. Based on her family’s experience in the Holocaust, Suki has staged Sh’ma in Europe and New York, and shown excerpts at the New York Festival of Jewish Culture, YIVO, B’Nai Jeshrun, Fort Monmouth Army Base, and the Dallas Museum of Biblical Arts. She is recreating the choreodrama Sh’ma for the present moment. The choreodrama is the heart of The Sh’ma Project for Holocaust and Human Rights Art and Education, with an emphasis on reaching out to young viewers.
Dance and Music Performances at the
TJAA / TSA Art Show Reception at the Eisemann Center
January 19, 2020
Music for the first piece is Winters, composed by Ayala Kalus. Music for the second piece is improvised by Sarah Price.
Dancers are Ally Elliot, Ally Z. Shives, Terrance Carson, Rose Kotopka and Suki John.
Musicians are Monika Idasiak, Benjamin Katzen, Lauren Koszyk, and Sarah Price.
Video by Rafael Cocchi.
Dancers are Ally Elliot, Ally Z. Shives, Terrance Carson, Rose Kotopka and Suki John.
Musicians are Monika Idasiak, Benjamin Katzen, Lauren Koszyk, and Sarah Price.
Video by Rafael Cocchi.